All Images Copyright Kacie Evans
The Kooks are celebrating 15 years of their award-winning album ‘Inside In / Inside out’ This was a significant gig in the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, with the venue capacity being 7,500.
With a similar music style to The Kooks, the show kicked off with the support of The Snuts, a Scottish indie rock band. They played 8 original songs and the crowd seemed to be familiar with the lyrics enabling them to sing along which created excitement for the main performance. I noticed the crowd was packed with a variety of people. An even split of both men and women both younger and older. This shows the inclusivity that The Kooks bring through their music and personalities.
The crowd went wild when The Kooks opened with ‘Seaside’ an adored song that is just over a minute long. Taking a step back, the entire venue was filled with singing bodies sharing the same experience which was incredible to see after many tight regulations during the pandemic. There was a special feeling of togetherness that I can only experience through a concert.
After performing a few of the songs from the album, lead singer Luke Pritchard was ideally interactive with the crowd making comments such as “We love you guys” and “Are you ready” I enjoyed this aspect because it created a hype that is necessary during an important gig like this one. The band then played ‘She Moves In Her Own Way” which was incredible. Being such a popular song, the fans were singing word for word and I could tell how cheerful the band was to be performing it.
The show continued with an engaging setlist. Following the generic concert trend, The Kooks returned with an encore of three songs concluding with ‘Naïve’. This is arguably their best song and definitely the most well-known with 418,163,920 listens on Spotify.
There was a smoky atmosphere throughout the show and was spotlight heavy, alternating between blue and red backdrops, combining to extenuate the band’s appearance. The crowd’s warm fellowship created a noticeable sense of community and I am proud to have been able to witness The Kooks performing in my hometown.
Kacie Evans
